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Bloomberg
A row engulfing the British government has helped the opposition Labour party record one of its first poll leads over the ruling Conservative party for almost a year.
Keir Starmer’s Labour party registered 37% support in the survey, a single point ahead of the Conservatives in the Opinium poll published by the Observer newspaper. It’s the first Labour lead recorded by Opinium since January.
The Liberal Democrats held 9% support while the Greens and the Scottish National Party had 7% and 5%, respectively.
The poll follows one conducted by Savanta ComRes for the Daily Mail newspaper that showed support for Labour surging to 40%, opening up a much wider six-point lead over the Tories.
The Conservatives’ waning popularity follows widespread dismay among MPs over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s botched attempt to overhaul Westminster’s standards watchdog. Since then, attention has focused on other so-called sleaze allegations, involving MP’s second jobs and rental income. Surveys show the public believe lawmakers should be banned from taking employment outside of their main parliamentary roles.
The row has come at a critical time for Johnson during the high-profile United Nations event on climate change in Glasgow and as his government tries to resolve a long-running Brexit dispute with the European Union over Northern Ireland. Johnson’s own personal approval rating has been falling in recent surveys, too.